“I Got You , Babe” is something my wife says to me, or I say to her. Of course, it is also the line from the song that plays every time the alarm goes off in the movie, Groundhog Day. Today’s prompt is about living a day over if we could, in order to get it right. The day that comes to mind for me is a summer day 5 years ago. It was a hot July day in 2008. I don’t remember the specifics of what I was doing, up until about the point that the policeman woke me up in my parked car. If only I had not left the car running (for the sake of air conditioning), I may have gone unnoticed. If only the keys were not in the ignition, it would not have been a DWAI (driving while ability impaired). And of course, if I had not been drinking before I left the house, and then again, while parked in the parking lot, none of it would have happened. I would not have been taken to jail. I would not have been subject to fines amounting to nearly $10,000 (USD) and made to take classes every Saturday morning for months. I would not have had my license taken away, and my insurance rates go up. I would not have been forced to quit drinking. If only…if only…

And yet, if I could have changed the events of that day, and not been forced to quit drinking, my life would not have gotten better. At the time I was angry that I had gotten charged with “driving while ability impaired” when, in fact, I was not driving at all. I should have been grateful that I had not hurt or killed anyone before I had parked. That would have really shaken me up, and caused me to re-evaluate the way I had been living my life. As it was, that rather minor offense of mine was enough to make me think about what might have happened. I have blogged about this before, in another context (https://cinnwriterblog.wordpress.com/2013/07/02/daily-prompt-what-might-have-been/ ), but it seemed to fit here, too.

What did happen is that my wife lost any remaining respect for me, and a marriage that had had problems all along, dissolved. But I was not alone for long. A wonderful woman came into my life at the same time as I was working to stay off alcohol. She had been brought up in a home with an alcoholic father, and knew well the damage that alcohol could do. She did not drink, and although she would have loved me if I had, I also had plenty of motivation to abstain now. I truly believe that God provided this for me at a time when I needed it.

“I Got You Babe” Bill Murray wakes up to another day and tries to change it.

“I Got You Babe” says my wife to me. I say it back to her, not wanting to change anything!